


Kisses For The Birthday Boy

by katie_b



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (completely understandable), Basically, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Everyone wants to kiss Tony, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 00:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14862812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_b/pseuds/katie_b
Summary: It's Tony's birthday, and everyone congratulates him in their own way (with a lot of kisses)





	Kisses For The Birthday Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the gorgeous art from rdjlock

Vision was the first one to congratulate Tony, phasing through the wall of his office and placing a kiss on the crown of his head. Tony was immediately taken to other birthdays long ago; when Jarvis would take him out for a cake and to the fair. Those days would begin with a kiss on the head, too.

"Happy birthday, Tony," Vision said, hovering behind him.

"Just another in the long line," Tony responded. He turned around, adding "but thank you. I appreciate the gesture."

Vision nodded, disappearing back through the wall, probably on his way to wake up Wanda. Or even just going back to sleep - Tony was only awake because of his terrible sleeping habits. Was the Sun even up?

He turned back towards the screens, not thinking about how a vibranium robot with an infinity stone and an AI programming based on Tony's old butler just wished him a happy birthday.

 

^^^

 

Pepper was next, her heels clicking across the floor as she strolled over to Tony, who was in the middle of putting on the suit. Because of course rabid aliens would attack the city today. And not even in a reasonable time; Tony was only on his second cup of coffee.

He was almost glad for the distraction, especially when he remembered part of the team that still wasn't back.

"Happy birthday, Tony," Pepper said with a grin. "Not the best way to start it, though."

"Not even I'm more important than New York, even if it's pretty close."

Pepper shook her head, grabbing the Iron Man helmet off the table. "Your gift will arrive this afternoon. For now you get only a kiss."

"Only? Don't underestimate yourself, Pepper" Tony joked, leaning down towards her and closing his eyes.

He laughed when she kissed the helmet instead and really getting into it.

"Clever."

"I thought you'd like it," she said, still smiling. "Now go and be a hero."

"I love it." He put on the helmet and fired the trusters. "What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn."

"Sounds about right. Wish me luck!"

And he was off to save the world. Again.

 

^^^

 

Right after the mission, Sam stole a selfie and a kiss.

"This will look amazing on my Instagram," he said.

Tony pretended to be annoyed, but then Sam pressed another wet kiss to his cheek, this time without the phone, and he couldn't hold in his laughter anymore.

The picture better be amazing.

 

^^^

 

Natasha blew him a kiss across the table at the debriefing. If Tony didn't pay attention to Fury before, now he was completely gone. He sent Nat a wink in return. Judging by her coughing to cover up a laugh, the wink was a terrible one.

He glanced at the empty seat next to him, and the other unoccupied chairs, frowning slightly. There was still no news, but he refused to let that get him down.

It was his birthday, after all.

 

^^^

 

"Stark, you up for a pocky game?"

"It's not my twelfth birthday, you know."

"Chicken."

And that was all it took for Clint to talk Tony into it. They were both biting down on the chocolate stick, slowly inching closer together.

Nat and Sam cheered them on from the sides, placing bets with Rhodey and Thor, who just looked on in confusion.

Tony stared into Clint's eyes, seeing the challenge in them. A part of him wanted to step up to the fight, but the blue of Clint's eyes reminded him of one other set of baby blues, and he flinched slightly.

The stick broke in half, making Nat cheer in triumph and Sam groan.

"You were so close, we believed in you!" he shouted at Tony.

"I failed you all," Tony responded, nibbling on the chocolate. He kept his eyes on Sam; there was no use scanning the room. They still weren't back.

"Come on, Wilson, he was clearly scared of kissing me. I'm used to the reaction."

"That sounded better in your head," Sam deadpanned.

They continued their bickering, and Tony avoided Nat's eyes. She always saw and understood too much.

 

^^^

 

Thor clasped a hand on Tony's shoulder, making him slightly stubble.

"It's a joyous occasion, Tony. Are you not enjoying youself?"

"I'm having a blast, Thor, I'm just tired. Aliens will do that to you."

"Well, worry not. We defeated our enemies today, and it was a glorious victory."

Tony smiled. Of course Thor would enjoy a good battle. "That actually makes me feel a little better. Thanks."

"And it's your birthday! Another reason to celebrate." Thor raised his glass, but Strange wasn't here yet, and it remained only half full. "I did not bring a worthy gift, unfortunately."

"Come on, Thor, you don't have to bother with that."

"It would be insulting of me not to. For now, this will have to do."

And then Thor pulled him into a kiss, one of the best kisses of Tony's life. His eyes widened in surprise, and then in amazement. Was being an excellent kisser an Asgard thing or a Thor thing?

 

^^^

 

Alarm sounded again in the evening, and as Tony was rushing to the workshop, he was stopped by a huge wall of green.

"Happy birthday," Hulk grunted. Was the situation that dangerous that they called him in?

Tony's train of thought was cut short by Hulk crouching down.

"Oh no, big guy, I've filled my quota for the day," Tony said, raising his hand to stop him. "I'm flattered, though."

Hulk grumbled, standing up. "No fun, old guy."

"Hey, I'm not-" Tony started, but Hulk was already halfway down the hallway.

Oh right, the alarm. Second of the day.

Maybe Tony really was getting old.

 

^^^

 

It turned out to be Loki, because no alien attack is complete without everyone's favorite homicidal demigod. He was brought down by the entire force of the Avengers, and Tony was grateful for that; the fight was better in distracting him than the party, anyway.

Tony was torn between just flying back to the Tower to sleep and doing the right thing and handling the reporters. He was spared of the choice when Vision passed him and stood in front of the cameras, his voice and accent doing a much better job of explaining the situation without actually, you know, revealing the truth. No one wanted Loki panic back, or the Loki fangirls.

He walked back towards his team and the prisoner. He patted Thor on the shoulder, his heart twitching at the slump of the god's shoulders. Family could be a bitch.

"Ah, Man of Iron. The guest of honor." Despite being in chains and shackles, Loki managed to sound as if there was no place he'd rather be.

"Was this your version of a birthday party?" Tony asked. Maybe it was; for all Tony knew, Thor kissing him could be the most normal thing in Asgard.

"Oh, far from it. My parties include a lot less clothing, and guests are put in chains for wildly different reasons."

Tony rolled his eyes at that and was relieved when he noticed Thor approaching.

"I shall take him to Asgard," he began, but Tony stopped him.

"SHIELD can hold him for a day. Let's go back to the Tower. I have a bottle of whiskey that gets more attractive the longer I think about it."

Thor chuckled at that. "I'll have to try it, then."

With one last glance at Loki - being led off by SHIELD agents - they walked away.

 

^^^

 

Tony didn't get very far before shouting made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Mister Stark!"

"Spiderman?" What the hell was he doing here? It was a school night.

"Kid, go to sleep, it's late," he said, turning in the direction of the voice. He was knocked off balance by a red and blue blur crashing against him. It took him a couple of moments that Peter was hugging him.

"Happy birthday!" Peter's voice was mumbled by his mask and Tony's shirt.

"What did we say about hugging?"

"But it's your birthday!"

"It's a yearly occurence," Tony said with a smile. "I appreciate the gesture, but it's kinda late. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Peter let go of him. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to congratulate you."

He sounded so sad that Tony couldn't handle it. "I don't do hugs. But this is an exception."

Spiderman froze for a moment before returning the hug. It was short, and awkward, but Tony could hear the smile in Peter's voice.

"This is awesome," he whispered.

"Thanks, kid. Now go home before May realizes you're gone."

 

^^^

 

Wanda went straight to the point, a short peck on the cheek and a smile.

"You're a little late, Vision visited me in the morning," Tony said.

"Vis is an early bird, and I'm not." Wanda rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "We could both learn something from him."

Tony rubbed at his face, aware of the bags under his eyes. He noticed Wanda also had them.

It hadn't been that long since Pietro and Ultron, and he understood. But what could he say to her? It'll get better?

"I'm not sure the accent would work on me," he said instead.

Wanda laughed, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"Don't sell yourself short, Stark."

 

^^^

 

T'Challa actually brought a kitten. When Tony asked him about it, he mentioned something about a bet with his sister. She sounded amazing, and Tony couldn't wait to meet her.

Tony was on the fence about having a pet - it wasn't exactly safe in the Tower, with that many superhumans - but then the kitten licked his nose before biting him and he was in love.

"I'm so keeping you, you little devil," he cooed to the kitty, already making plans to make a trip to the pet store.

 

^^^

 

Strange joined the party after he was done with magic-proofing Loki's cell. And it was Strange's cloak, not Strange himself, that hugged Tony.

"Is the rag always that affectionate?" Tony asked Stephen.

"It's a cloak, and I'd just go with it. He can be pretty stubborn."

"Does he usually hug people?"

"No."

"In that case, I'm very much glad someone finally understands how great I am. Thanks, uh, Cloak."

Cloak squeezed him tight before unwinding and going back to Strange's shoulders.

 

^^^

 

Guardians appeared at some point, and Tony vaguely remembered being dragged into the weirdest group hug of his life.

Quill was being way too clingy, Gamora stared at the bar with such a longing Tony felt sorry for her, and Drax was on his way to break everyone's ribs.

But it was Mantis that surprised him the most.

"Don't be sad, he'll come home."

She looked pretty convinced she was right, and Tony found himself believing her.

It made it easier to breathe. He almost felt as if Drax wasn't squeezing the life out of him.

Groot and Rocket stood to the side, Rocket raising a glass in greeting when he met Tony's eyes.

And even with all that, this still wasn't his strangest birthday party.

 

^^^

 

Tony felt Hope and Scott on his shoulders as they each pressed a kiss to his neck. Or they just slapped him - it was more likely he'd feel that. He refused to make an angel and demon joke. It would be just too easy.

 

^^^

 

Tony was in the middle of a heated discussion with Strange and Quill, out of all people, when his phone pinged. At first he considered ignoring it - there was a chance it was an alert that was about to become an alarm - but listening to Strange and Star-Lord arguing about Kevin Bacon was so much worse.

The phone notification turned out to be a landing alert. Tony nearly dropped the phone at that.

They were back.

"I gotta go," he said to no one in particular before rushing off towards the elevator.

It moved way too slowly down to the hangar, and Tony practically ran out of it when it opened. He managed to take only a couple of steps before he noticed someone was standing at the end of the hallway.

Light glimmered off the metal arm. It was Barnes.

"Hey, Tony," he said. "If you're looking for Steve and Rhodey, they're still down in the hangar. Something about checking the quinjet." Despite his easy tone of voice, he seemed barely able to, the shadows making him look tired and drained.

"You okay?" Tony asked, approaching slowly.

Barnes and him had a strained relationship, to say the least, but he was a teammate and Steve's friend.

"Yeah, the flight back was long and my headache started again. Sonic weapons Hydra had didn't help."

Tony cursed softly; he should've argued more against Fury sending Barnes to deal with rogue Hydra agents. Those kind of missions messed with his mind the most.

"Do you want me to take you to the med floor? Dr Cho's here, we can call her."

Bucky shook his head. "I just have to sleep it off."

"Alright. Come on then, let's get you to your room," he said, placing a hand on Barnes's metal shoulder.

Bucky said nothing, just sagged in relief as Tony helped him over to the elevator.

"Happy birthday, by the way," he mumbled. "I didn't get you anything-"

"And you don't have to. This whole day's been weird enough to remember for a while."

"Now you're walking the Winter Soldier to his room." A smirk appeared on Bucky's face. "Not the way I saw this night ending."

"Our lives are strange, best not to think about it too much."

The elevator opened on the residential floor, and again Tony helped Barnes reach the door to his room.

"Do you need help with the arm, or the-"

"No, I'm fine. I'd be even better if you had some super painkillers, though."

Tony chuckled. "Not yet. But hey, T'Challa is here, and God knows Wakandan tech is ages more advanced than what we have. I could ask him for help."

Bucky stared at Tony for a second before turning away and walking deeper into his room. Since he didn't close the door, Tony could see him reaching for something on his desk. He returned to the door, a small white flower in his hand.

"Wanda brought me these earlier this week, so they're kinda wilted, but-" he paused, quickly pressing the flower to his lips and handing it to Tony. "Thank you for everything you've done for me," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Tony accepted the flower, nodding at Barnes before he closed the door to his room.

He put the flower behind his ear as he was walking back to the elevator, sending a quick text to Nat. She’d know how to help Barnes better than him.

This day really was weird.

 

 

^^^

 

It took Rhodey saying Tony's name three times to snap him out of his reverie.

"Hey, Rhodes."

"Why is there a daisy behind your ear?"

Tony shrugged and moved to hug him.  "Just roll with it."

Rhodey laughed and embraced his friend.

"You're just in time for the party," Tony said, his voice muffled by Rhodey's shoulder.

"I could really use a drink."

Tony let go of Rhodey, searching for any signs of injury or exhaustion. "Did the mission go alright? I saw Barnes on my way down, and he didn't look so good."

Rhodey sighed. "Yeah, almost everything went according to plan, but they had a couple of those sonic guns, and they got Cap and Barnes-"

"What?"

"Don't worry, the only injuries were headaches. Nothing their bodies can't handle."

That didn't stop Tony from worrying; this day was already too long and tiring, and now this news.

"Hey, Tony, I can hear you thinking," Rhodey said. "Calm down and breathe. It's your birthday."

"Between two interventions today, I don't think this is a day for being calm."

Rhodey laughed, drawing Tony in again and placing a kiss on his temple. "Rogers is down in the workshop, try not being too loud."

"But the party's all the way- oh, you meant because of the headache."

The sound of Rhodey's snickering followed Tony as he went down the hallway.

 

^^^

 

Steve was sitting on the couch, enjoying the dark and silence of the workshop. His head was still throbbing from the sonic attack, but he could feel himself healing, in the morning he'd be as good as new.

He stared at the drawing in his hands. It was of Tony because of course it was, a portrait from couple of weeks ago. It had been one of the rare occasions he'd managed to get a decent amount of sleep, and it showed. Even in the darkness, Steve could see the twinkle in those wide brown eyes. He remembered the exact moment he'd used as inspiration.

 

_It had been after a successful infiltration of a Hydra research facility. No one had gotten seriously hurt, they'd defeated the bad guys, it had been one of those times everything was good. Steve had found Tony combing through the computers, frowning in concentration._

_"We did good out there," he'd said without looking up. "Nice job, Cap."_

_"You weren't that bad yourself, shellhead."_

_Tony had only rolled his eyes. "Har har, Steve. Too bad you're Captain America, you would've been a great comedian."_

_Steve'd pressed a quick kiss to Tony's cheek instead of answering. They usually avoided such things while on missions, but the success of mission made Steve feel giddy. Besides, it's not like their relationship was exactly a secret._

_Tony'd straightened suddenly and looked at Steve. His hair had been a bit tussled from the helmet, the soft glow of the arc reactor visible through the fabric of his undershirt. His eyes had been crinkled due to his smile. "I found it," he'd announced._

_"The weapons?"_

_"Yup."_

_It had taken every ounce of Steve's strength not to grab Tony and kiss him senseless. "God, you're amazing."_

_"Not the right context for those words, but I'll take it."_

 

His hearing picked up someone coming down the stairs. Another second and Steve figured out it was Tony - no one else walked with that kind of purpose except Pepper, but the person wasn't wearing high heels.

The doors unlocked and Tony stepped through, squinting in the darkness. "Steve, you here?" he called out, careful of not being too loud.

"On the couch."

"How's your head? I met Rhodey and Barnes on my way here," he added when Steve frowned.

"Oh. It's doing a lot better now. It's one of the reasons we were late; Rhodey had to pilot the quinjet, and he couldn't go too fast without Bucky or me getting sick."

Tony ran a hand through Steve's hair, smiling at the way Steve automatically leaned into the touch.

"Must have felt like old times," he said.

Steve chuckled, closing eyes and focusing on the feeling of Tony's hand. "That feeling isn't something I really missed." He grumbled at the loss of contact when Tony withdrew his hand.

"What's that?"

Steve opened his eyes and realized Tony was looking at the drawing in his lap. "It's something I've been working on. It's supposed to be your birthday gift, but I'm not quite done."

Tony was silent for a moment before reaching towards the drawing. "May I?"

"Sure."

"Friday, turn on the lights at 25 percent."

The workshop was illuminated by soft light, and Steve stared at Tony's face. There were a couple of fresh cuts - he faintly remembered Colonel Rhodes mentioning two Avengers interventions - but the look on Tony's face. If only Steve's head didn't feel like Hulk punched him, he could spend hours drawing him 

Tony looked at Steve with the same look he had when he figured out his next engineering breakthrough, or he solved a complicated equation.

"What?" Steve asked. He was used to people looking up to him, but from Tony, it was never just one emotion. It was never just admiration, or annoyance, or straight out anger when they were bickering.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, but what-"

Tony pulled him in for a deep kiss. "Happy birthday to me," he said with a grin.

Steve smiled, his head still a bit muddled. "I guess you like it, then."

"I love it. I'm gonna frame it and put it up here in the workshop so I can watch myself while I work."

"Of course you are," Steve said with a sigh. "I guess we should get to the party. I just have to get dressed and-" he moved to stand, but Tony stopped him, his hand clasping Steve's shoulder.

"You don't have to go anywhere in that state. Barnes could barely stand upright, and I doubt you're in better condition."

"Tony-"

"Don't 'Tony' me! We'll get you up to the penthouse, you'll shower, and then you'll sleep it off."

It was difficult to argue with Tony when Steve was at his best, and this definitely wasn't it. He was right; without Rhodey to fly them home, Steve wasn't sure they would have made it back safely.

"Alright," he agreed, letting Tony pull him up with a grunt.

"Those stupid wings on your helmet could be useful and make you lighter, but no, they just look pretty," Tony said, but Steve could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hey, I like the wings."

 

Tony just shook his head, shuffling him and Steve up the stairs and towards the elevator. If someone had told him he would help not one, but two super soldiers to their beds, there would be no chance of him believing that.

Still, there he was, gently lowering Steve on the bed and helping him take off the uniform. The stupid thing definitely needed an upgrade in that part, something Tony had been considering ever since the time he nearly broke his finger in the rush of getting Steve naked.

He was more careful this time, checking for any bruises or injuries. 'Careful' definitely wasn't the first thing he would call Captain America.

"Can you stand?" Tony asked Steve, who just huffed and got up from the bed.

"I'm already healing, Tony, stop being such a mother hen." He managed to take a couple of steps before stumbling.

Tony immediately rushed to his side. "You stubborn icicle," he muttered. "Are you alright?"

"I stubbed my toe. Besides that, I think I'll live."

"A true comedian." Tony watched with slight worry as Steve got into the shower. He should probably go back to the party and at least explain why he left so suddenly, but he couldn't leave Steve like this.

"Don't fall and break your hip," he said, walking back to the bedroom before Steve could chuck a shampoo bottle at him. "Friday, is Rhodey at the party?"

"Yes, boss," the response came immediately. "He's retelling the newest mission for the fifth time, according to the security feed."

"So he's still getting warmed up." Tony rubbed his temples; was the sonic headache contagious? He should've dragged both Cap and Barnes to the med floor and get them checked out.

He pulled out his phone and typed out a quick message to Rhodey.

 

**Rogers is worse than I thought. I have to stay with him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. I'm sorry for bailing on the party**

 

**I can blow up the story and make it sound more serious if you want**

**Sixth time's the charm, Rhodey. Knock yourself out**

**Fuck you, Big Brother**

 

Tony tucked his phone away just as Steve entered the bedroom. He was already wearing pajama pants and an Iron Man t-shirt, courtesy of Wilson and Barnes.

"Look at you go, Cap. Next up is tying your shoelaces." Tony's mouth were sometimes faster than his brain, especially when he was under stress. Seeing Steve in this state definitely counted as a stressful situation.

"Fuck off, Tony," Steve said, without any real malice, as he stumbled to the bed and fell face-first on it. He groaned in pain, either from the contact or the sudden movement that sent his head spinning.

"Serves you right for having a potty mouth."

Steve cursed again as Tony went into the bathroom, putting on his own pajamas once he was done. He was quiet on his way to the bed, as Steve looked pretty much knocked out. Fury was going to kick their ass for not getting checked over, but the man was by this point pretty much used to the Avengers acting like stubborn children.

"Come on, Cap, let's get you under the covers." Tony tried moving Steve, but the other man was barely awake and too heavy. Tony gave up soon, instead lying on top of the covers next to Steve and pulling him closer. His body was basically a heater, so Tony at least wouldn't be cold.

Steve settled his head on Tony's chest, the blue of the arc reactor reflected in the blue of his eyes.

"Tony?" he whispered, his eyes closing as he drew even closer.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday."

"You said that already," Tony began, but Steve was already asleep.

Tony dimmed down the lights before placing a light kiss to Steve's mop of hair. "Happy birthday to me." He thought back on his birthday parties, or at least the ones he remembered. Who'd have thought he would go from drinking and partying for days to this; bailing on the party to take care of the man he loved. There was nowhere he would rather be.

Tony curled his arm tighter around Steve, and was asleep in minutes, a blissful smile resting on his lips.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware this is a bit late, but the idea was too stuck in my head for me not to finish it and post it 
> 
> leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked it! 
> 
> if you want, come say hello to me on my tumblr


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